Kizuna
by Chibiko1
Summary: "Hiei... do you believe that love is beyond death?" Yaoi, HxK. You've been warned.
1. Default Chapter

Kizuna 

By Chibiko

5/12/2002

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warnings: **YAOI HxK** There. It's bold, underlined and in capital letters. You can't    

               miss it. May contain spoilers. 

~*~

It was quiet as I stood before the entrance to Reikai's palace. The elaborately decorated doors towered over me, seemingly sturdy and impenetrable. After seeing Yusuke knock it down a few times, I know otherwise.

I gave my scarf an irritated tug. Normally, I would have sneaked in using any unguarded entrance and Reikai had plenty of those. I'd learnt long ago that it is usually unwise to announce my presence at Reikai – or the strongholds of any other powerful beings – especially when the purpose of my visit is to threaten the prince of Reikai for top-secret information. So why the hell was I standing here, with the intention to actually knock on this door?

An unbidden memory surfaced in my mind, and I saw Kurama giving Yusuke a lecture about respect and diplomacy after he blew down the gates to Gandara out of pure impatience.

Kurama.

K'so.

He was still influencing my actions, though he wasn't even here, which was exactly the problem. That kitsune just vanished a year ago without a word to anyone except his ningen mother.    

Just left, without even telling me.

I visited the Minamino household with Yusuke and Kuwabara, but all Shiori told us through her sobs, was that she did not know his whereabouts, and that she had promised to keep the reason for his departure secret. She also said that Kurama had told her everything. Everything, including the existence of the other two worlds, his past as a youko and our relationship.

It didn't sound good.

After exhausting my resources in the past year and getting no results, I'm left with no other choice. That's why I'm standing at the door of one of my least favorite places in the three worlds, trying to be… diplomatic. 

I pressed the button next to the tiny speaker and took some comfort in the sight of the button embedded in the wall. The speaker crackled, then came to life as a disgruntled voice spoke through it.

"Who's that?"

I bristled at the tone, but bit back a savage remark.

"Hiei. From the Urameshi team."

There was a long pause. Then one of the doors cracked open. A dark green oni peered through the crack.

I narrowed my eyes and watched with mild interest as the oni turned a shade of pale green.

"Well?" 

"I'm sorry," he began cautiously. " The Urameshi team was deactivated 8 years ago. You have no right to enter."

The door slammed shut and I heard the distinct footsteps of someone running away. 

…to hell with diplomacy.

I reached down to the center of my being and called for my youki; felt its cool dark power fill me to the brim and concentrate on my fists, where it burst into the form of wild Makai flames. 

I smirked at the closed door; felt a fang indenting my lower lip. Then I attacked, letting out some of my frustration by concentrating my punches on the part of the door carved in the likeness of Enma Daiou. The hinges gave way a few seconds later and the supposedly impenetrable doors went down in blazing glory. 

I was through the doorway and halfway down a corridor before the impact. Unsurprisingly, there were no guards around. Reikai, where the lives and deaths of all living beings were handled, was also infamous for its disturbingly inefficient security system.

Hn. It was easy to understand how the pathetic army of deranged occult worshippers had managed to invade Reikai a few years ago.   

I kept to the shadows, one hand keeping my katana close to my side and out of the way. Reikai was a beehive of activity. Onis of all colors and sizes ran in all directions, each carrying a pile of documents twice their height while ferry girls weaved between them, each with a confused soul in tow. It seemed that no one had noticed my violent entrance or were all too busy to care.

I turned, heading for Koenma's office just as high-pitched wails blasted the palace; and winced when a chorus of surprised yelps and screams abruptly drowned the sound out. The alarm that should have gone off more than ten minutes ago was finally working.

"Hn," I muttered, strangely relieved to find that there was still some hope for Reikai's security system. "About time."

Guards who had been absent before flooded the hallway I was in. I waited with my youki hidden as well as I could until they passed, then leapt down from the corner where two walls and the ceiling met. Most people seldom think of looking up while searching for an enemy. Boot sliding across the floor to be as quiet as possible, I slipped into Koenma's office.

There were no guards in the office where the prince of Reikai was working. Predictable.

For a moment, I just stood in the shadows and watched the toddler at work. Chubby fingers curled tightly around a stamp, he quickly stamped each document with the speed and ease of someone who has had centuries of practice. He definitely needed the speed. The pile of papers on his desk was… massive.

Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. The table vibrated gently with each of the rhythmic thuds.

Sometimes I wonder… does he even read those documents? Or does he simply do his job, stamp a document and dismiss someone's life the next second? I wanted to laugh. Day in and day out, all he does is sit at this little desk and work like any other ningen executive. His hands hold many lives, but what does he know about life? 

Kurama's voice, warm and soothing, sounded in the back of my mind. Something the kitsune had said when Yusuke was teasing Koenma.  

_He has his duties, Yusuke. _

Hn. 

I stepped out of the shadows. The room whirled by and came to an abrupt stop as I flitted to stand before him.

Stamp. Stamp. _Freeze._

Limp fingers nearly dropped the stamp.

"Hiei..."

"Koenma. You know what I'm here for." 

--------

TBC

Chibiko: So... how was it? R & R, please. And Sylphide-chan? Review. Or else.


	2. Chapter 2

Kizuna 

By Chibiko

09/12/2002

Chapter 2

Koenma's wide brown eyes stared into mine as his lips worked nervously against that damned pacifier. He regained his composure soon. Climbing onto the desk so that he could be face to face with me, he drew himself up to his full height and glared. It was almost comical.

"No," came the firm reply.

Although I had expected his answer, it was still hard to keep a tight rein on my anger. Especially when the dark power within me, fuelled by a year of frustration and worry, was straining against my control and snapping at the god before me. 

Koenma glared pointedly at the wisps of smoke that had risen from my right arm and was curling lazily in the still air. The temperature in the room had risen by a few degrees.

"You have trespassed on Reikai's property, barged into my office without permission and obstructed the work of a god," he stated.

True. But he hadn't raised the alarm. Perhaps he didn't want to throw me out of his office yet.

It was an interesting possibility.

I raised an eyebrow, feeling it arch and disappear behind the ward binding my jagan.

"So?"

"And so, I am not obligated to impart any top-secret information," he ground out through gritted teeth.

For a moment, I couldn't react; frozen by sheer incredulity at his words.

Not obligated? 

Slow rage burned and awakened the dragon curled around my arm. I forced it back down.

"I know he went to Reikai the day before he left," I snarled, baring a fang. "He came here to look for you. You know everything, don't you?"

His face remained expressionless.

"He had been acting strangely since the last mission. The mission you sent us on even though the Urameshi team was already… deactivated."

He flinched.

"I… there was no one else powerful enough to take down Kazori and his army…" His voice trailed off.

I took a step forward.

"He hadn't been himself since the thrice-be-damned mission! There was something bothering him, but he won't tell me. Instead he paid you a visit, then the next day he was gone and no one could find him! I want some answers!" 

I was shouting and I didn't care. To hell with anyone who heard me and damn the guards to Meikai. The past year of frustration, dashed hopes and fruitless searches churned within me, building into a raging tsunami dammed in only by my dubious amount of control.

No one in the three worlds will keep me form Kurama.

Koenma shook his head, flustered and a little lost, as the air crackled and sizzled with tiny bursts of youki that had escaped my control.

"I… I won't… I can't just tell you the location of any being you name –-"

His words ended in a surprised huff as I took hold of his collar, lifting him off the desk. The tsunami roared and the air around us flared into an inferno.

"He's my lover, godammit, and one day I just woke up to an empty apartment! Have you seen Shiori? For one whole year, all she did was pine away. She looks like a ghost! She won't tell her family anything and those two ningens are worried to death!"

I took a deep breath and lowered my voice to a hiss. 

"Yusuke was so optimistic when we started the search. Now he's moody and discouraged, and it's affecting Keiko and bringing down the others' morale. Even Kuwabara's been abnormally quiet. Yukina tries to hide it, but I know she's been crying for the past few nights."

I paused, fumbling for the words.

"His absence is affecting everyone… Kurama is an important part of our lives. He's your friend too. You should know."

For a moment, he didn't reply. The silence stretched, hanging between us like a poised guillotine. The air hissed and sighed as the flames slowly died down. Outside the room, the sirens continued to wail.

Slowly, Koenma met my gaze. I blinked, taken aback by the weariness in those eyes; eyes that didn't fit the young face. 

"Gomen nasai," he whispered, the words nearly swallowed in the stillness of the room. "Any information on soul is top-secret. I can't divulge secrets just because it concerns my friends." He gave a mirthless chuckle. "No, let me rephrase that: I can't divulge secrets, especially when it concerns my friends. I'm a god, Hiei. I cannot be biased. Eyes in the Makai and Reikai are watching my every move, waiting for me to screw up. Especially after I defied my father's orders to 'terminate Yusuke Urameshi' when he resurrected the second time." 

He sighed and rubbed his pale face with chubby fingers.

"If I make a mistake, accusations would fly. Then we would be looking at a pretty scenario: internal conflict within Reikai, coupled with a war between Makai and Reikai, which would eventually destroy the Ningenkai. I have to do what I must, Hiei. Don't you understand?"

The last of the flames flickered and died out. I stared at Koenma, noting the aged brown eyes set in the ageless face and the dejected slump of his shoulders.

_He has his duties.      _

I set him down on his armchair.

"I understand," I said quietly, watching those dull brown eyes light up. I gave him a quick nod and turned to leave.

My ears caught the sound of quickly approaching footsteps in the distance. No doubt the incompetent guards had finally sensed my youki and figured out that the intruder was in their ruler's office. Hn. Koenma would have had a better chance of survival relying on himself and his fuukuman.

But Reikai's pathetic excuse for a security system would work in my advantage. It would be easy to break into the vaults and search for Kurama's file, even if Reikai would be after my blood after they finally discover the break-in. I snorted at the thought. With the Urameshi team 'deactivated', what can Reikai send after me? A bunch of sword-waving onis? 

I was less than concerned about the consequences of my plan, and more worried about the process. Reikai had dozens of vaults and hundreds of stacks of files in each one. How the hell was I going to look for Kurama's file? If I used the jagan, I would risk being detected.  Forget searching, I didn't even know which vault to start at…

The deliberate clearing of a throat caught my attention. I turned back towards Koenma and raised a questioning eyebrow as the footsteps, accompanied by frantic shouting, drew closer. 

"Hiei. What do you think of Reikai's security system?"

…What game was he playing?

I narrowed my eyes.

"To quote Yusuke, it's 'so crappy it isn't even worth shoving up Enma Daiou's bloated butt'."

Koenma winced. I smirked. Yusuke always had a way of expressing himself.

"It's true, I suppose," he said. "Someday we'd have to do something about it. Security is too loose, especially around the vaults."

I drew in a sharp breath. This was getting intriguing. 

"And speaking of the vaults," he continued. "I think it's about time to clean them. You should have seen Vault Four. The files at the top of each stack are practically smothered by dust. The seventh stack actually had cobwebs over it."

Ah. I see. This made things so much easier.

I felt the corners of my lips tugging upwards in an involuntary smile. Koenma grinned back.

"Forget spring cleaning. I still think you should work on security. You never know when some psycho may decide to break onto the vaults."

"Yeah," he agreed. "You never know."

I flitted from the office just as the guards burst in and headed straight for Vault Four. Any thief could have picked the lock and gotten pass the rest of the defenses. There it was. The top file on the seventh stack. The answer to all my questions.

I snatched the file in triumph, sat down at in a dark corner of the vault… and found that I couldn't open it. 

Kurama smiled back at me from the photograph tacked to the cover. Absently, I traced his face with my fingers. How long has it been since I last saw his smile? A shiver ran down my spine. When I finally find out the truth… when I finally find him… would he still be able to give me that smile?

I growled and shook off my unexplained fears. Then I flipped to the last few pages of the file.

A few minutes later, I was frantically re-reading those few pieces of paper, trying to search for some detail that I had probably missed. Hopefully a detail that would deny all the cold, impersonal facts I had just read. 

I found none.

Kuso.

Kuso.

KUSO!

I shut the file and tried to stand, managing to do it on the fourth attempt. I replaced the file containing the information that had ripped the anchor from my world and sent it spinning in a confusing swirl of colors.

Ignoring the surprised yelps of some passing ferry girls, I shoved past them, kicked aside the lone guard in my way and headed for the nearest portal to Ningenkai.

TBC

Chibiko: For those who reviewed, THANKS! *Starts dancing with tare-Ginji* So… please do it again. @_@* Once again: Sylphide-chan? Review. Or else.


	3. Chapter 3

For those who were expecting the third chapter, sorry! *Hides behind desk*  
  
I couldn't update because I was on vacation. When I got back I was too busy with the cosplay. I'll get the third chapter up by this weekend. I hope. -_-()  
  
Anyway, here's an early Christmas present. ^_^ Just go here: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=131791  
  
PS: The image may take a while to load.  
  
~Chibiko 


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